Cultural Pittsfield This Week: April 7-13

11:35AM / Friday, April 07, 2017Print Story | Email Story

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April 7 - April 13, 2017

APRIL 7 is First Fridays Artswalk & More!

Enjoy a dozen different art shows featuring work by over 20 accomplished regional artists in Pittsfield's bustling Upstreet Cultural District during the First Fridays Artswalk and all month long! In most venues, artists will be present from 5-8 p.m. A free guided tour begins at 5 p.m. at the Intermodal Center @ BRTA, 1 Columbus Ave.

Grafitti art is filling the walls of the Lichtenstein this month, all leading up to the Funkdation Hip Hop Festival, curated by the Funk Box Dance Studio.

Click here for more information.

April is Autism Awareness Month, and to celebrate, Berkshire County organizations are launching a campaign to increase awareness of services available to individuals and families impacted by autism in the Berkshires. A kickoff celebration, held from 5-8 p.m. at AdLib at 215 North St., will feature autism resource provider information, a First Fridays art show, and student performances.

At Berkshire Music School, Sally-Jane Heit presents her one-woman show, My Alternative Facts of Life, to benefit the music school. 7 p.m.

The fun doesn't stop at 8 p.m.! An Afterwalk Party with Wes Buckley will be held The Whitney Center for the Arts at 42 Wendell Ave. from 8-10 p.m.

MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

SUN FREE BSO Community Chamber Concert

The Colonial Theatre welcomes members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a 3 p.m. concert of high-quality, relevant and engaging chamber music. The program will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and dessert reception for the audience. Tickets are free and can be reserved online or by calling (617) 266-1200.

Plus...

FAMILY FRIENDLY

SAT Parent/Child Yoga at Funk Box Dance Studio

The Funk Box Dance Studio, at 307 North Street, will offer a class with Rogue Yoga from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Parents and children ages 5 and older are invited to breathe together, stretch together and challenge each other with some acro yoga! There will also be a craft or activity. Beginners are welcome - no experience needed! $10 per duo.

Plus...

ONGOING T-Shirt Art Contest at Berkshire Athenaeum | FRI+ Teen Book Giveaway at Berkshire Athenaeum | FRI WeeMuse: Adventures at Berkshire Museum | SAT FREE Playwright Mentoring Project Performance at Barrington Stage | SAT Imagination Playground at Berkshire Museum | SAT FREE David Grover Concert at The Colonial | SAT Chow Time at Berkshire Museum | TUE WeeMuse: Littlest Learners at Berkshire Museum | TUE Sensory Story Time at Berkshire Athenaeum | WED WeeMuse: Parent/Child STEM at Berkshire Museum | THU+ Kids' Yoga Series at Berkshire Yoga, Dance & Fitness

WELLNESS

FRI Zumba with Janet at Berkshire Salsa

Berkshire Salsa, located at 137 North Street, presents a fun workout that will help you stay healthy as you move to contagious music. Zumba uses a mix of Latin rhythms (such as salsa, merengue, bachata and flamenco) and cardio movements for an energizing workout experience. 5:15-6:15 p.m.

Plus...

FRI FREE Gentle Yoga Class at Berkshire Yoga, Dance & Fitness | SAT Color Fun Run at Kids' Place | MON Mom & Baby Fitness at Berkshire Yoga, Dance & Fitness | WED Run to North at Hotel on North

PERFORMANCE

FRI-SUN Women's Shorts at BCC

Berkshire Community College will host an annual production of short plays by women playwrights and performers. This year's featured performers are playwright and actor Anne Undeland, playwright Jane Denitz Smith, filmmaker and playwright Cindy Parrish, and playwright and actor Maizy Broderick Scarpa.
Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets: $10 general admission and FREE for students, staff and seniors.

Plus...

SAT FREE Playwright Mentoring Project Performance at Barrington Stage | TUE Town Players Auditions for Staged Readings at The Whit | TUE-WED Town Players Auditions for Love, Loss & What I Wore at The Whit

GET CREATIVE

WED+ Women's Art Class with OLLI at BCC

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) presents a six-week expressive arts class at Berkshire Community College. The class will focus on topics specific to women's creativity and empowerment. Classes are Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. beginning April 12 and ending on May 17.

Plus...

FRI-SAT Canvas & Pottery Painting Open Studio at The Dirty Brush | SAT Berkshire Crafting Club at Yummy Treasures | TUE "Striking Iris" Painting Party at Hilton Garden Inn | TUE Craft on North at Hotel on North

COMMUNITY

SAT Slice of Life Pizza Competition at Crowne Plaza

The 7th Annual Slice of Life Pizza Competition to benefit Moments House will be held at The Crowne Plaza Hotel from 6-10 p.m.

Enjoy all the pizza you can eat, live music by Misty Blues, a photobooth, balloon animals and tons of raffles. Plus you get to pick the winners in the categories of Best Sauce, Best Crust, Most Unique, and Best Overall.

Plus...

FRI Community Dinner at Shire City Sanctuary | FRI Spring Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. at First United Methodist | SAT Last Indoor Farmers Market of the Season at Boys & Girls Club | SAT Greek Pastry Sale at St. George Greek Orthodox Church | SAT De-cluttering Group at Wellness Underground | SAT Student Perform-a-thon at Berkshire Music School | SAT Ham Dinner at St. Joseph's Church | MON+ Food for Fines at Berkshire Athenaeum

LEARN

SAT Cooking Class at Shire City Sanctuary

Shire City Sanctuary will hold its April cooking class with Mariana Bergtold, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef who used to run the Dancing Vegan restaurant in Pittsfield. Learn to make four varieties of vegan muffins -gluten-free corn; gluten-free banana; blueberry; and pecan cinnamon. Participants will make a batch of muffins and swap at the end of class so that everyone has all four types to take home. 3-5 p.m. $15 for adults, $8 for children under 16.

Plus...

FRI-SAT Docent-led Tours of Tell Me More Exhibit at Berkshire Museum | SAT Gathering Our Hearts at Standing Rock at Shire City Sanctuary | SAT The Messenger at Berkshire Museum | MON Drum Class at The Lichtenstein | TUE Lyme Disease & Food as Medicine at Berkshire Athenaeum | TUE Toastmasters Meeting | THU When Comedy Went to School at Knesset Israel

FILM

The Eagle Huntress

at The Little Cinema

This documentary follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and to rise to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries.

Click here for screening dates and times.

Plus...

ONGOING

See What's New at The Beacon Cinema | SAT The Messenger at Berkshire Museum | SAT Gathering Our Hearts at Standing Rock at Shire City Sanctuary | THU When Comedy Went to School at Knesset Israel

Attention All Artists: Four Calls for Submissions

The Deadlines For Submissions Are Approaching!

Pittsfield Artscape is once again partnering with Berkshire Money Management to bring more public art to the downtown with the Pittsfield Paintbox Project. Artists will transform typically drab electrical boxes into artful streetscapes. The deadline has been extended. Submissions accepted through Wednesday, April 19.

The City of Pittsfield's Office of Cultural Development, in collaboration with the Transformative Development Initiative (TDI), is looking for art suitable for a mural to fit on a 12ft. x 15ft. surface (concrete or brick) on Tyler Street. The deadline for submission is Friday, April 21 at 3 p.m.

In solidarity with the national Nasty Women's art movement, a Berkshire Nasty Women exhibit will be presented at the Colonial Theatre from May 4 - May 14. All proceeds will be donated to the ACLU or League of Women Voters at purchasers' discretion. Submit your piece before May 1!

The Berkshire County Historical Society at Herman Melville's Arrowhead will feature "Enchanted Berkshires: Where Fairies Dance" - a full slate of programs that will include an exhibit of one-of-a-kind, artist-created fairy houses. Be a part of the show! Submissions must be mailed in by May 8.

What's Showing at The Licht

Pittsfield's city-owned community arts center, the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, features nine working artist studios, a ceramics studio, a community room and an art gallery with changing exhibitions, classes, performances + more!

28 Renne Ave. | Hours Wed-Sat 11am-4pm

Andres Ramirez of The Funk Box Dance Studio will curate a show of regional graffiti artists as part of the Funkdation Hip Hop Art Festival. The exhibit will open during First Fridays Artswalk on April 7 from 5-8 p.m. Live performances and an artists' reception will be part of the Funkdation Festival on Saturday, April 29.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARKING METER PLAN

Five things to remember about the new downtown parking system:

1. Always enter your license plate number - even for the FREE first 30 minutes.

2. On-street parking is $1 per hour; lot parking is 50 cents per hour. There are also nearly 400 free parking spaces on the city's side streets.

3. You can pay by coin, credit card, or by downloading the Passport parking app.

4. You do not need to display the parking receipt on your dashboard.

5. Parking is FREE on evenings and weekends!

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If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Flushing of Pittsfield's Water System to Begin

11:04AM / Thursday, April 18, 2024

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city of Pittsfield's Department of Public Utilities announces that phase 1 of the flushing of the city's water system will begin Monday, April 22.

Water mains throughout the city will be flushed, through hydrants, over the upcoming weeks to remove accumulations of pipeline corrosion products. Mains will be flushed Monday through Friday each week, except holidays, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The upcoming flushing for April 22 to May 3 is expected to affect the following areas:
Starting at the town line on Dalton Avenue working west through Coltsville including lower Crane Avenue, Meadowview neighborhood, following Cheshire Road north.
Hubbard Avenue and Downing Parkway.
Starting at the town line on East Street working west through the McIntosh and Parkside neighborhoods.
Elm Street neighborhoods west to the intersection of East Street.
Starting at the town line on Williams Street, working west including Mountain Drive,
Ann Drive, East New Lenox Road, and Holmes Road neighborhoods.

Although flushing may cause localized discolored water and reduced service pressure conditions in and around the immediate area of flushing, appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that proper levels of treatment and disinfections are maintained in the system at all times. If residents experience discolored water, they should let the water run for a short period to clear it prior to use.

If discolored water or low-pressure conditions persist, please contact the Water Department at (413) 499-9339.

Flushing is an important operating procedure that contributes significantly to the maintenance of the water quality in the water distribution system.

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